2. 2023

German Shepherd’s chronic diarrhea

German Shepherd's chronic diarrhea can come from:

  • Indulgent treats (GSD are the worst for GI upset from 'excess')
  • Overrich foods (Keep it simple and moderate-to-low calorie food)
  • Access to cat food (Even next door on their porch)
  • #COMMON# Hyperacidity Syndrome
  • #COMMON# Bacterial Overgrowth Syndrome

These go “hand-in-hand” in that the GSD produces excess stomach acid – lots of the time. This can cause stomach-upset but also:
The hyperacidity can overwhelm the small intestine and 'burn it' which then grows bacteria – in the intestinal wall – lining. This is “Bacterial Overgrowth Syndrome” consequent to Hyperacidity Syndrome.
Things you can do: Discourage overeating. Read more in the main article at https://drjohnson.com

Of Import to Everyone With a Pet Dog: Canine Endocardiosis from Dental Disease

This article is even going on my fishy sites because it seems like, MOST fishy-pond-owners ALSO have a beloved dog. 
And most people with dogs only get dental-cleanings with extractions for their pet, BECAUSE of rotten breath. Not actually because of the REAL reason you should: 
Older dogs have painful mouths that constantly shed bacteria through the bloodstream and the very air they breathe into their vital organs. A dog getting good dental exercise doesn’t have that problem. Dogs with healthy gums almost-never develop valve disease and eventually: Heart failure. 
The full article is pretty brief, about canine (dog) dental prophylaxis and specifically: WHY YOUR DOG SHOULD HAVE A DENTAL SCALING AS RECOMMENDED BY YOUR VET 
It’s so much more than bad breath. It extends life. 
Here’s the full text: 

Pizza in a Bag – HOW NOT TO FEED YOUR DOG.

Pizza In a Bag (A Truthful Satire)

Finally! Your dog will never decline food. 

“Aren’t you tired of mixing melted butter and whip cream with the dogs food to get it to eat?” Well, those days are over!

This will get your dog eating like it’s hungry, even when it’s not. Not even a little bit.

Remember the days of sitting at the dining room table with your child, forcing the emptying of the plate three times a day or “you’ll sit here until you do”? And the kid just wasn’t hungry?

Threats were good. Feeding cookies and cake was good. But letting the kid just choose how much she ate? No possible way. 

Of course you don’t. Forcing a kid to clean their plate when they’re not hungry made fat kids. I’m living testament.

Instead:

Find a food that your dog self-regulates. IMPORTANT: Find a food your dog has the ability to walk past when it’s NOT HUNGRY.

Note (with happiness) that picky dogs are either:

“A good weight. Like BCS4“

-or-

Unwell. 

This would make a good bumper sticker:

A picky dog with three ribs showing, is sick. A picky dog with no ribs showing is just fine.

https://drjohnson.com/bcs

Positive Reinforcement is a Strong Idea with Weak Results

More than forty years ago people didn’t take any crap off their dogs. Dogs were NOT our equals and we didn’t join THEIR pack. They were admitted to OUR pack and were absolutely expected to be respectful to us, or they were “sent to the farm”

Excessive Barking, Bad Behavior, And How to Avoid Alpha Dominance or Actual Control of The Dog

[Disclaimer: This article will be shocking to most people because it expects them to be dominant over their dog.]

If you find yourself saying “Oh no, he would bite me if I tried trimming his nails” –

You are NOT alpha to your dog.

Don’t take crap off your dog. Find an Alpha trainer (usually ex-military or extremely experienced) and use one.

One night I got up at 3 in the morning and before I knew it, Isabelle was across the floor to have-a-gnaw on my feet and my foot went under her as I stepped forward and scooped her across the floor and into the bedroom door. Bonk.

I wasn’t running. But, let’s face it: I might-as-well have kicked her. At least in her mind, I kicked her.

She instantly became the most obedient dog we ever had, and never gnawed a foot again.

NO she was not traumatized, fearful, punishment-trained or any of the PTSD that the trainers promise your dog will have from what happened. ## Furthermore I’ll reiterate it was an accident ##. But the trainers will assure you that the “punished” dogs will have lower self esteem, appreciate fine music less, become sociopaths and Narcissists, try to run away, fail in dog classes, badmouth you in therapy, and end up less creative than “Good” owner’s dogs.

Bull shit.

The rednecks had it right. Rednecks don’t take shit off their dogs. And it works.

Read the whole article here:

Natural Biology of Altum Scalare

This matters because it kind of addresses some of the ways (and reasons) you can improve the condition and success with Altum scalare (Angel fish) 

In nature: Altum scalare would form schools of individuals, dozens of them, just hanging in a gentle Amazon-current among tall plants like Valisneria – and the water was warm with a pH about 6.9-7.0 and tannin rich. And always, floating down the river to where they would congregate, there would be tiny insects and larve, copepods, daphnia – in vast amounts because well, it was the Amazon and it wasn't polluted. So, it was warm and the feed was constant, and tiny. So they eventually evolved into “not powerful” swimmers, mastering instead “motionless” and calorie conservation, compressed low-drag bodies and tiny mouths for pinpoint accuracy taking native copepods and rotifers, like Daphnia. 
Feed was constant in their natural world: Because warm water hastens metabolism, so that meant they had to be on the lookout for every tiny morsel of food.
BASICS OF ANGELFISH JOY: 

 = Tannins

 = Moderate to low pH
 = High aeration without too much water current 
 = Temperature in the high-seventies, low eighties
 = Frequent or constant light feeding
 = Carnivore fare (tiny slow-sinking pellets / flakes) 
ERIK L. JOHNSON 

THC Delta 8 in dogs:

An update on THC Delta 8 Isomer in Dogs 

Despite the Internet’s insistence that Delta-8 Isomer THC in dogs is “toxic” –  it’s entirely the opposite. 

THC Delta 8 in dogs works VERY well with a long re-dosing interval. 

Once-a-day dosing is VERY reasonable. If you dose Delta-8 Isomer gummies in the morning , it will wear off completely at about 18-22 hours. 

Dosing THC Delta 8 in dogs more conservatively can ensure that effects don’t last more than 24 hours. And can sustain a suitable length-of-effect without dosing as high as the first dose. 

After the first few doses of THC Delta 8 in dogs, drooling is MINIMAL. 

There is definitely a “first 3-5 hours” of visible effect from the Delta 8 Gummies. Where the dog might sway while standing, or bump into your leg when turning around. After that time, however, you can still see a ‘calmness’ without any physical manifestation. Just a “slower wagging tail” and a more “considered” response to squirrels in the yard or the UPS man crossing the driveway. 


I doubt that a dog would need to be on Delta 8 THC Isomer gummies for life. My wager would be that a dog would realize that “so much angst” is unnecessary and unwarranted and “forget” to be so spazzy about things. That would be the hope, anyway. 


There’s a chart for dosing, and a VERY comprehensive discussion of the obvious and not-so-obvious side effects of THC Delta 8 isomer gummies in dogs. The assessments were done with healthy subject dogs, using 25mg Gummies by “Koi Inc.” Grape flavored without xylitol. 

THC Delta 8 in dogs:  https://drjohnson.com/thc 

Disclaimer: It’s crucial that these comments and notes aren’t broadened to include Delta 6,9,10 nor “full spectrum” THC or “plain weed” because it’s NOT. These notes and assessments are made on a specific strength, brand and dose of Delta 8 isomer THC given as an oral ‘gummy’. It has never been recommended for use over 1mg/kg and it’s unlikely it would ever need to be. 

 

BONE BROTH and BEEF BONES Notes that’ll surprise you I think.

Marrow Bones and Bone Broth 

A note for dog owners. 

I want NOT to bombard with information about dogs and cats but sometimes I see something “enough times” to think that “Hmmm I should say something about this because people won’t know.” 

It’s about bone broth. 

Bone broth is a soup or stock made with bones. Like, the marrow (which is a LOT of fat) is melted out of bones making a tasty marrow / bone broth. 

What’s good: 

It has lots of nutrients that are from the marrow. Even iron. 

What’s bad: 

It’s a LOT (I mean a LOT) of fat. So if you noticed that when you put it on your dog’s food they “Eat like never before” that’s why. And then you’ll notice their weight climbing up month after month. 

REMEMBER: 

Bone broth is basically “Liquid Pizza” for a dog’s waistline. 

It gets worse: 

Bone broth and any other source of fat over 15% in toto are actually LIKELY to cause gastrointestinal upset, diarrhea and eventually, chronic colitis. 

If you and your Vet are battling your dog’s chronic diarrhea (like every month or more) it could be a cumulative effect of too much fat in the diet. Overweight dogs have a very high likelihood of diarrhea and GI Upset. 

CONCLUSION: 

I said all that to say this:   I’d leave Bone Broth out of a dog’s diet. If they don’t wanna eat dry dog food dry, twice a day, then I’d suspect they’re at a really good weight and don’t NEED the calories. 

Adding Bone Broth makes them eat WITHOUT NEED and they get fat. 

Two random notes:   

BONES GET STUCK SURPRISINGLY: 

We cut a bone off a dog’s lower jaw again the other day. It was a “marrow bone” which is basically a ‘bracelet’ made of bone, and full of marrow / fat. The bone gets ‘emptied out’ pretty fast, giving the dog a sudden 750 calorie punch in the waist. Then they slide the bone down over their lower jaw and have to go get it cut off. 

BEST BONE FOR DOGS:

Secret sauce: Beef Shanks. All of the marrowy goodness MUCH more slowly, and no bones over the lower jaw. ALWAYS make sure it’s a BEEF shank because a PORK SHANK will splinter like a Pinata full of razorblades. 

A WORD OF CAUTION: 

In fact, I STRENUOUSLY recommend AGAINST any and all bones which are PORK origin. Only BEEF bones have any chance against the jaws of a dog over 40 pounds. For the rest, Pork Bones Splinter. 

 In the picture, Robin plays with a big BEEF Knuckle

THC in Grams: That’s How “They” Discuss Delta 8 THC in Dogs

It’s obvious to an outside observer that CBD manufacturers have everything to lose with THC becoming more and more accessible. 

CBD doesn’t work without micro-traces of THC. 
Which is fine if you use CBD with less than 0.3% THC and give enough to hit some THC-mark that works. 
But I believe that THC in one form, or another (Delta-8) is here to stay and should be embraced. 
The following article shows that THC isomer Delta-8 being discussed in GRAMS is an effective way to demonize it, versus acknowledging that in MILLIgrams (a thousand times less) –  It’s safe.